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	HISTORY For 30 years, Ballet Tech has provided thousands of students with the opportunity to explore the arts and develop their talents in a tuition-free professional ballet school. The school (originally called "The New Ballet School") was founded in 1978 by world-renowned choreographer Eliot Feld. Inspired by a subway car full of exuberant students, Mr. Feld was struck with an idea: all children should have an introduction to dance, and the opportunity to train should be contingent upon their innate talent and enthusiasm, not their parents' income. Pursuing this inspiration, he received permission from New York's Board of Education to visit elementary schools throughout the city and audition children. Those selected were invited to participate in a school time-release program in which they were bused to Mr. Feld's dance studio at 890 Broadway to take a beginner ballet class. Students who showed a high level of potential in those beginner classes were invited to further their studies after-school. In its first year, the school auditioned 1,668 children at 8 public schools in Harlem, East Harlem, the Lower East Side, Chinatown, and Brooklyn. 138 of those students enrolled in a 17-week course. Over the years the school has expanded exponentially. In 1996, Ballet Tech partnered with the NYC Department of Education to add an academic school to the building, The New York City Public School for Dance. Now students could study ballet and their academic coursework in the same place, creating a more concentrated and nurturing learning experience. Since 1978, Ballet Tech has auditioned 614,607 public school children and enrolled 16,525. Graduates have pursued professional careers with such companies as Ballet Tech, Alvin Ailey, American Ballet Theatre, and Dance Theatre of Harlem, and pursued higher education at colleges and universities including Brown, Columbia, Hunter College, Penn State, Skidmore, St. John's and SUNY Purchase. Ballet Tech was designated one of four national projects by the United States Department of Education's Office of the Gifted and Talented. In 1986 the school received a Schools and Culture Award, co-sponsored by the Alliance for the Arts and the New York City Commission for Cultural Affairs. In October 1992 the Arts and Business Council honored Ballet Tech for "its unique service to New York City's youth." The New York State Alliance for Arts Education awarded Ballet Tech the Creative Ticket Award for Schools and Excellence in 2002. Ballet Tech has been consulted by ballet companies nationwide on replicating components of its unique and innovative program. LOCATION FACTS Related Links: Curriculum Frequently Asked Questions Photos & Videos